Elon Musk is stepping down as Twitter CEO. The multi-billionaire, who purchased the social network for $44 billion last year, announced on Thursday that he has hired a new CEO for the company. He didn’t name his replacement but said “she” will take over in about six weeks. Reports suggest Linda Yaccarino, the current head of global advertising and partnerships for NBCUniversal, would replace Musk as the new Twitter CEO.
Musk has been Twitter’s CEO since he completed the high-profile privatization of the social network giant in late October last year. In December, he announced that he will step aside as soon as he finds someone to lead the company. It appears he has finally found the right person.
“Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!” Musk said in a tweet on Thursday. He added that he will assume the role of executive chair and CTO (chief technology officer) at the company. The current Twitter CEO will oversee “product, software & sysops” in his new role.
NBCUniversal’s advertising head could be the new Twitter CEO
Soon after Musk’s tweet, the social network went abuzz with rumors about the next Twitter CEO. All hands are now pointing toward Linda Yaccarino. People familiar with the situation confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that Yaccarino is in talks to replace Elon Musk as Twitter’s new head.
The NBCUniversal executive has reportedly wanted this job for a long time. She recently interviewed Musk at her “Possible” advertising conference in Miami and has been tweeting about NBC’s partnership with Twitter for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Yaccarino is also said to share similar political views as Musk. All in all, the agreement appears done. Perhaps as Musk said, he has already “hired” a new CEO for Twitter.
The reason he didn’t name her in his tweet is that Yaccarino is still with NBC Universal and is currently preparing for the company’s annual Upfront presentation to advertisers coming Monday. A representative for NBCUniversal told the media that Yaccarino is rehearsing for the presentation. She likely preferred to focus on her current job and asked Musk to not name her the new Twitter CEO just yet.
As Musk confirmed, he will not leave Twitter’s leadership roles following the arrival of the new CEO. He will remain the executive chair and CTO of the company. Yaccarino, meanwhile, will probably focus solely on the business side of things.
She joined NBCUniversal in 2011 after spending 20 years at Turner Broadcasting. She has a vast experience in the ad business, something Twitter needs to revive after a chaotic few months early in the Musk era when several advertisers left the platform. Time will tell how Twitter changes under Yaccarino. Well, we first need an official confirmation that she will be the new Twitter CEO. We will let you know when we have more information.